Spicy Coriander & Chilli Hummus // and some BIG news

Sometimes I can’t believe the things that we do to make food and eating SO complicated. I promise you, three years ago I didn’t want to touch chickpeas because they were being pushed as bad for us due to their carbohydrate content and the anti-nutrients that they contain. Three years along the line and this same narrative is being played out, just by different parties, but the thing is that legumes are actually an amazing (affordable) inclusion in a well-balanced diet. They contain loads of beneficial dietary fibre, which our gut can benefit from, and if prepared correctly they may be more than fine for your tummy to handle.

Something I did when I started including more pulses and legumes in my diet was to introduce them little by little, to get my tummy used to them. Legumes are very in high FODMAPs, specifically galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and can cause gassiness and bloating in many people, but these symptoms can vary from person to person. By introducing legumes little by little, starting with 1/4 cup a day for a few days and increasing the amount slowly from there, I found that my tummy was able to adjust to consuming more legumes quite well. As already mentioned, the way in which we prepare legumes can make a big difference, for example tinned lentils contain less GOS than boiled lentils. This is because GOS is water-soluble (meaning it can ‘dissolve’ in water) and leaches out of the lentils during processing and storage.

First things first…

I have some BIG news to share. It has been on my heart to share this for a while, but I felt that I needed to have all my ducks in a row before putting it out there and letting all of you know. My husband and I are going to be moving to the United Kingdom at the end of this month to start a whole new (unexpected) adventure. A couple of months ago an opportunity, that was just mind-blowingly cool, presented itself to us and after spending a lot of time weighing up the pros and cons and figuring out if it was the right path for us as a couple and each of us as individuals, we have decided to jump in and grab it with both hands. I have been given the chance to change my path slightly and complete a MSc Human Nutrition at the University of Surrey, which is located in Guildford, a little town in Southern England (just South of London). I will thus no longer become a #RD2BE, but will be working towards becoming a registered nutritionist. For those who are a bit confused as to what the difference will be between becoming a registered dietitian and a registered nutritionist, this resource by the BDA explains things quite well.

Just as a summary, here are a few basic differences in terms of the role that nutritionists and dietitians play.

Nutritionists work in all non-clinical settings such as in Government, food industry, research, teaching, sports and exercise industries, international work in developing countries, media and communications, animal nutrition and NGOs.

There are some nutritionists employed within the NHS working alongside Registered Dietitians. Nutritionists often work freelance as consultants.

Nutritionists work with people who are well, without any known existing medical conditions, to prevent disease.

They cannot work with acutely ill hospitalised patients or those living in the community requiring therapeutic interventions without supervision from a dietitian.

Dietitians work in the NHS and in private clinics. They work with healthy and sick people in a variety of settings. Dietitians can work in the food industry, workplace, catering, education, sport and the media. Other care pathways they work in include mental health, learning disabilities,community, acute settings and public health.

They often work as integral members of multi-disciplinary teams to treat complex clinical conditions such as diabetes, food allergy and intolerance, IBS syndrome, eating disorders, chronic fatigue, malnutrition, kidney failure and bowel disorders.

They provide advice to caterers to ensure the nutritional care of all clients in NHS and other care settings such as nursing homes, they also plan and implement public health programmes to promote health and prevent nutrition related diseases. A key role of a dietitian is to train and educate other health and social care workers.

They also advise on diet to avoid the side effects and interactions between medications.

Although my path is changing a bit, I am excited to see where Taste & See goes in this next year. Believe it or not but the blog turned 1 year old on Tuesday this week! 1 August marked the day that I shared my first post (this Easy Overnight Oat recipe, which is still a favorite) and made the blog public for all of you to read. Over the past year I have learned so much, and as mentioned in the beginning of this post the way that my eating and relationship has changed over the past year has been amazing. I have learned to love ingredients that I would never have cooked with before, have re-learnt to love carbohydrates again (having actually come to fear eating things like oats, legumes, and rice), and have met so many amazing people through this platform. So thank you for all of your support, and for giving Taste & See a chance 🙂 The best is yet to come.

Spicy Coriander & Chilli Hummus

Now onto today’s recipe. I have fallen in love with making Pick Up Lime’s hummus recipes from scratch (seriously, check out this, this, and this one if you want a few go-to hummus recipes). Sadia prefers to use whole food fat sources instead of loads of extra oil that is usually called for in hummus recipes. She uses more tahini than normal as the main source of fat in the recipe and adds a little bit of water instead of extra oil to make the hummus creamy and delicious. This recipe of mine was created out of the blue when I needed to use a whole box of coriander that was about to go off. For coriander haters, I’m sorry, I have learned to love it and this is one of my favorite recipes. For coriander lovers, enjoy 🙂

Spicy Coriander & Chilli Hummus

2017-08-03 17:55:12

Serves 6

A spicy twist on the classic hummus recipe. Made using a whole lot of flavorsome ingredients, it is perfect for spreading on sandwiches or crackers, dipping freshly cut veggies in, or just enjoying as part of a salad.